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Life of Abundance

What a week! What a month for that matter. Things have been hectic to say the least. God has been blessing my family in out of control ways. Faith is powerful, prayer is underestimated, pride is a roadblock, and life is short. These are the lessons that I’ve been learning.

For months we have been searching all over our area for a home. We have big needs and limited resources so it was tough. Somewhere in my mind I decided that I wanted to go small and missional. Not by the leading of God but by my own selfish ambition to appear faithful. It’s called pride and it is a huge mistake. When I step outside of what Gods will for me and my family is, nothing good can come of it. My awesome wife and kids followed my leadership and went with it, willing to go wherever I took them. Luckily for all of us, God intervened and led us when my own leadership failed. I don’t know how to explain it other than our God is awesome and always at work for the faithful, sometimes even when they are off in their own little world. We have been blessed with a perfect home that we can afford and that meets all of our needs. We were blessed in reverse, I wanted small and downtrodden, and we were given large and beautiful.

Lord, frustrate my plans and implement your own. You are always right and I trust you in everything!

We have been a one car family for some time now. That fact has made life pretty uncomfortable considering we have five kids that seem like they always need to be on opposite sides of town at the same time. Also, with my work schedule, or lack thereof, just getting back and forth was a challenge. Once again, the Lord came to the rescue and provided me with a nice little pickup. I couldn’t be more happy with it and I know that it has made my wife’s’ life a whole lot less chaotic. And to get it with no money out of our pocket, total blessing.

Lord, I know our comfort is not your priority, but thank you for fulfilling your promise to give us a life of abundance.

I have been involved in a prison ministry at church. It has truly been one of the best things I have ever done. For the most part I am just there to support an awesome man of God, Bob McDowell, as he fulfills his calling, but the gifts I have received as a result are priceless. When the Holy Spirit fills that room, we are no longer in a prison but in the presence of the Most High God. I’ve said it over and over again, they think I am there for them, but the truth is I am there for me. I love it and can’t wait to see where it goes next. Already, 18 men have been baptized, and that never gets old! The gospel is on the move folks, and nothing, not even prison walls and razor wire can hold it back!

Thank you Lord, you provide far more than material, but a new heart that can experience pure joy even in the darkest of places. I desperately want to serve you in whatever place you’d have me.

This week has been pretty tough on the heart. A friend and coworker was killed when the plane he was flying crashed during the landing. He was a man who was never without a smile and he will be missed. I pray for his family as they go through this horribly tough time. Several days after receiving that news, I had the unfortunate luck to witness one of the most disturbing things I have ever seen. I was at work, sitting on my train waiting for a ride to the hotel that we stay at, when a commuter train approached the station where I was waiting. From out of the bushes ran a man, who proceeded to lay down on the tracks in front of the oncoming commuter train and end his life right before my eyes. I don’t know the mans name or anything about him, but I do know that he was in pain and for some reason, suicide was the only was the only way he knew to alleviate it. It all happened so fast, there wasn’t anything anyone could have done. Nevertheless, my heart breaks knowing that there is so much desperation in the world. Christ is the answer. I’ve felt similar pain before and the unending love and grace of Jesus Christ pulled me from the brink. If only it could have done the same for that man.

Lord, I pray for a heart for people. I pray desperately for boldness to share your message of hope and salvation with the world. You asked “Who shall I send?” Send Me!